Children's educator Ms Rachel has called for the release of detained Gaza paediatrician Dr Hussam Abu Safiya , using a social media post to highlight the doctor's continued imprisonment by Israel more than 530 days after his arrest.
In a post shared on Instagram, the popular children's content creator, whose full name is Rachel Accurso, described Abu Safiya as a doctor who had dedicated his life to caring for children and refused to abandon his young patients during Israel's war on Gaza .
"Free Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. He is a pediatrician. His life's work has been caring for children," she wrote.
"He refused to abandon the babies, toddlers and children under his care during a genocide."
Accurso noted that the UN, the WHO, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, MedGlobal and the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention had all called for his release.
She also highlighted the death of Abu Safiya's 15-year-old son Ibrahim, who was killed in an Israeli drone attack on the Kamal Adwan Hospital in October 2024.
"Even in the midst of profound personal grief, he continued caring for wounded children and remained by his patients' side," she wrote.
"No doctor should be imprisoned for choosing compassion. No one should be illegally held and tortured. He has not been charged with anything."
Accurso, whose "Songs for Littles" videos have made her one of the world's most recognisable children's educators, has repeatedly used her platform to draw attention to the impact of the war on Palestinian children.
Her advocacy has attracted fierce attacks from pro-Israel activists and organisations.
Earlier this year, the group StopAntisemitism included her among the nominees for its annual "Antisemite of the Year" award over her Gaza-related advocacy.
Abu Safiya, a paediatrician and director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, became internationally known during the war for refusing to leave one of the enclave's last functioning hospitals despite repeated Israeli military attacks in the area.
Just two months after killing his son, Israeli forces detained Abu Safiya during a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital. He has remained in Israeli custody ever since.
His detention has drawn condemnation from medical organisations, human rights groups and UN experts, who have repeatedly called for his release and raised concerns about his treatment in custody.
Amnesty International has described his detention as "arbitrary" and has said he has been subjected to abuse and denied adequate healthcare while imprisoned.
Recent photographs of the doctor in detention have also sparked renewed concern among supporters and rights advocates.
Abu Safiya's case has become emblematic of wider concerns about Israel's treatment of Palestinian healthcare workers during the war.
Medical organisations and rights groups have documented the detention of hundreds of healthcare workers from Gaza since October 2023, while hospitals across the enclave have repeatedly been attacked, besieged or forced out of service.